For You, Anything
by Mitsu Sayama
Summary: Deidara is a neglected child, abused by his parents. He begins school at the Iwa Ninja Academy and his extremely shy nature him holds him back. One day he waits outside the school for hours but his mother never comes to pick him up. Just as the sun is setting a girl barely older than himself shows up and offers him help. They have never met before, but she seems so familiar . . . .


She walked calmly along the mountain path, her bare feet echoing a small pattering with every step she took. Her feet were used to traveling over this terrain and felt no pain from the jagged, rough rocks that stabbed up at her. A shiver racketed her petite frame. Not from the harsh winds that whipped about and threatened to throw her off balance, perhaps even cause her to stumble over the edge of the path and down to her death. She was used to that. No, she had shivered because she had felt so utterly naked. To be out in the field without her uniform or mask was a completely foreign experience for her.

Of course there was a purpose for this. If enemy forces apprehended her before she was able to make it to her target all they would see was a shivering child with wide eyes. Perhaps she had gotten upset and ran from her parents into the mountain range and had gotten lost, or maybe a group of older kids had brought her out here and abandoned her as a prank, thinking that she would be able to find her way back to the village. An experienced shinobi might suspect her of being a low-ranking scout who simply stumbled too close to their camp. Yes, there were a great many things she could be in their minds. Though they would never suspect her to be a member of Iwagakure's Anbu until it was too late.

As she neared the last of her marks the assaulting breeze whistled in her ears and occasionally seemed whisper fragments of a conversation. She knew though that the wind was not speaking to her, but rather it was the idle chitchat of the enemy washed away by the currents of air. With this realization she instinctively clutched tighter to the nohkan flute that she held in the middle of her chest. The flute was carved from bamboo and was barren of decoration. It was a sturdy enough instrument but one would not have to use incredible force to destroy it either. Still, it was with the nohkan that she had single-handedly slew the enemies stationed throughout the vast mountain ranges of Iwagakure. No matter what lie ahead of her, she knew that she would need nothing other than the instrument to destroy them, and this thought gave her courage.

The path became incredibly steep for a few moments before leveling itself once more and turned sharply to the left. Her pace was slower now, knowing that her opponents would be behind this bend, yet she did not bother to hug the stone wall for there was no reason to hide her presence. Rounding the corner she could see that there were only three of them, each one dressed in blue with a white, one-strapped flak jacket and on their legs they wore shin guards - a clear trait of Kumogakura shinobi. Simply from the way they held themselves she could tell that they were anxious and on edge. Perhaps they had noticed the lack of contact from their allies. Or perhaps they were simply a little green. She suspected it to be the latter since it took them nearly half a minute to notice her.

"Tisuki, look!" one of them cried out with a mixture of alarm and surprise. His teammates spun around to face her, one even going so far as to reach for the kunai holder strapped to his thigh. Confusion washes over their faces and their actions falter once they processed who was standing in front of them. Yes, she was certain now that they were green. There were many emotions that were flickering in their eyes yet suspicion and hostility were not among them. They were too inexperienced to perceive a girl as young as she was as a threat. In their eyes she was simply a slight child with a few good years before puberty took hold of her, and she was clearly unarmed and wore a knee length kimono that was a dull pink color. The long strands of her dark green hair whipped around her porcelain face and stubbornly hung down into her striking gold eyes. She was definitely not what these three expected to encounter, no doubt, but she also did not fit their idea of an enemy.

"Do you want to hear a song?" She asked gently, her voice barely audible above the wind. Without giving them time to respond she lifted the nohkan to her lips and blew into the mouth piece, her fingers skillfully gliding across the holes that were drilled into the instrument. Even as the first note floated into the breeze there was a clear change in the air surrounding her slight body. It first seemed to blur, then stabilized once it took on a blueish hue. Her eyes slipped shut and she lost herself in the music.

The shinobi named Tisuki gritted his teeth in frustration. "She's a ninja from Iwa!" he shouted to his teammates, realizing that the blue aura surrounding the strange girl was her chakra. To think that someone so young could channel such an immense power . . . . No. He didn't have time to admire her skills; he needed to act. With a flick of his wrist he unsnapped the cover of his kunai holder and slid out a single knife. Now was the time to strike, while the girl seemed to concentrate on setting up the rest of her jutsu. Tisuki clutched the handle and raced towards the young musician, his eyes narrowed in determination. He thrust the kunai at her chest, the blade cutting through the air towards her heart - and then rebounded as if it had hit something solid, even though the tip of the blade hovered at least three inches away from her body. "The hell -" Tisuki broke off as a sharp pain pierced his abdomen. His eyes widened and he stared at the small shinobi in front of him before looking down. The blue aura surrounding the musician had taken on a new form, one that resembled the blade of a sword and the chakra blade had wedged itself within his stomach. "I-I . . . I don't . . ." The weapon wavered for a moment and then the chakra dispersed, rejoining its place around the small Iwa nin. Blood spewed from Tisuki's open wound. All of a sudden his legs became weak and they collapsed underneath the weight of his own body.

The remaining Kumo nin watched this, wide-eyed, fear gripping their bodies and preventing them from moving. After all, Tisuki was the strongest member in their group, his skills far beyond anything they could even dream of. If this girl could take him down so easily then what chance did they have?!

Throughout all this the young Anbu member continued her performance, her fingers never once hesitating. Her eyes were still closed but she knew that her two remaining opponents were incapacitated with fear. Normally she would have considered allowing them to go free, to warn their village of the terrifying skills that Iwagakure possessed. But her orders had been very clear. She was to slaughter every target she came across, no matter what they offered in exchange for their lives. The time for warnings had passed; it was time for action.

Before either of the two nin could even think to beg for their lives the chakra surrounding the girl began to morph once more, taking on the form of hundreds of kunai knives. They hung in the air for a moment before flying towards their targets, impaling the Kumogakura nin in their chests, arms, legs, faces. As they fell to the ground they screamed at the top of their lungs, writhing with pain as their cries echoed. Within the agonizing yells the music stopped and the slight musician opened her eyes to survey the scene around her. Without the tune of her nohkan the chakra kunai lost their form and dispersed into nothing once more. This team was not dead yet but they would be within an hour, their wounds untreated as they lie in a pool of their own blood. Yes, they would die on their own. There was no need to continue.

Stowing her nohkan in the folds of her kimono she turned abruptly on her heel and began her long trek back down the mountain.


End file.
